Ring of Fire (25 page)

“Thought you were better at math than that, Nate. Hell, bro, we learned to add in kindergarten when we weren’t peekin’ up Mrs. Paulson’s skirt. I hear what you’re seeing out there. But the view in here is different. From what I can see here, I count four. Two men and two women.”

Nate nodded and measured his reply, forcing the emotion out of it.

“I concede the point, Jeb. You have three people who mean more to me than anything in the world. That does change the math.”

Jeb snorted, “It sure as hell does, asshole.”

He added. “Now, my friend I believe we are ready to begin the negotiations.”

Chapter 28

Nate sucked in a calming breath, then grabbed another.

“One non-negotiable point, Jeb. My earlier threat holds true. If you touch either woman, I’ll chop you in so many pieces, a shoebox will hold your remains with room to spare.”

At the rumble in the sky, Nate looked up to see the plane circling, preparing to land in the clearing by the cabin.

“Here’s the plane now. This might surprise you, Jeb, but I want you out of my town as much as you want to be gone. I’ve cut a deal with your pilot. He’s agreed to surrender and do five years on drug possession. Guess he figured you’d kill him first chance you got. You said you can fly the plane so we’re gonna take your word on it.”

“So far so good, Nate.”

“Glad you approve. Here’s what we’re gonna do. First, you’re gonna cut Sam loose. You can use him as a shield or any damn way you want to get into the plane.”

“Hold on there, Nate. Come again? You’re sayin’ I’m supposed to cut loose a nationally ranked MMA cage fighter that took us seven men and as many guns to string him up? I’m supposed to cut
that
man down and he’ll amble along beside me and escort me to the plane?”

Jeb barked a short laugh. “I don’t think so, bro.”

Nate chuckled in response.

“Ah, hell, Jeb. It was worth a try. In that case, Annika will do the honors.”

“Wrong again, Nate. No deal. She’s a cop and while I’d like nothin’ better than pistol whipping the smart-mouthed slut to death, she ain’t going to be my escort.

“Nope,
buddy,
the only person who’s going to accompany me up those steps is Erin. She’s gonna be standing right in front of me. So close and in such a way that I don’t care if your shooters can take a pimple off my ass at a hundred yards. My gun barrel buried in her skull means if I die, she dies.”

Nate activated the private communication system.

“Speak up, Mark. Don’t have to tell you that I’m skatin’ on thin ice here. If it wasn’t for Sam, Annika and Erin, I woulda been inside that shack ten minutes ago and packing Jeb’s remains in that aforementioned shoe box. The fact that he’s gonna be hiding behind Erin is about to kill me, bro.”

“I know that, Nate. You’ve done better than any man could—hell you’ve been sensational. But you’re not alone. Eric and his men have more than done their share. And if I do say so myself, my team’s not too shabby either. We’ve got your six, big time, bro.”

Nate groaned.

“Jesus, dude. You too, Eric. You
know
I couldn’t have done it without you and that I appreciate the hell out of you both. Humor me, Mark. Confirm again that guy you planted inside the Cartel came through.”

“I’ll go one better, Nate. Calm your fears. You’d recognize my inside guy if you saw him. Does Swamp Snake ring a bell?’

Nate’s heart leapt. In his mind he saw the wiry brown man with the soft Hispanic voice who the haji in Iraq had mistook for one of them. Swamp Snake—Szzz for short, got his nickname because he could slither into Ali Baba’s bedroll and slit his throat before the asshole knew he had company.

“Are you telling me that Szzz is inside the Cartel?”

“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you. Just know, Big Dog, I’m not the only one of your former team that went legit. But, if by inside, you mean
el jeffe’s
closest advisor, you’d be

right on.”

Nate whistled. “Fuck, man. You coulda told me. I might not have lost twenty pounds of sweat in the last twelve hours. Damn, Mark, no wonder you knew exactly when that shipment of shit would arrive and how many men would be on each truck.”

Nate struggled with his next decision.

“Please confirm that
el jeffe
is on the plane.’’

“Roger that, Big Dog, along with two of his most trusted bodyguards, neither of whom is our man. According to Szzz, our friends in the Cartel were pleased to have the privilege of flying Jeb to his… destination.”

“Damn, Mark, the next time I question whether the Feds can pull off a Bravo Zulu with the best of us, you have permission to cut out my tongue.”

“And lose the chance to shoot the shit with the best trash talker I know? No way, Big Dog.”

At that moment Jeb called out from inside the cabin.

“The fact that you’re not flapping that smart mouth of yours, Nate, mean you’re getting cold feet? Or that you’re thinking of rushing the cabin rather than letting your woman walk me out? Wouldn’t do it, Nate. My gun’s at the back of her head and Sam-bo and his babe are securely tied. Two easy shots from my Magnum will take them out.”

“No, Jeb. I’m not that foolish. Just that it’s a big step letting you within a hundred feet of Erin much less next to her.”

Jeb’s voice was taunting. “I’ve been a hell of a lot closer than that, Nate, for the most of the day. Gotta tell you, bro, dark hair and all, I can see the attraction. This little pussy of yours is hot. She could be Playmate of the Month any damn month of the year.”

It took a supreme effort but Nate managed to stifle his growl.

“Here’s the drill, Jeb. The plane’s landed. Your pilot is with my men. He left the engine running so you won’t have any trouble taking off. You have my word. I told my men to stand down. No one will take a shot at you even if it’s as clean as a whore in church. I won’t take a chance on hurting Erin.”

“In any other circumstances, I’d be crazy to believe those guys wouldn’t shoot. But that’s one thing I can say for you, Nate. Your word is your bond. Just like the Chief taught you. Christ, you’re like Horton the Elephant. ‘You do what you say and you say what you do.’”

“Remember the flip side of my pledge is that if you hurt Erin in any way, you’ll die a more painful death than you have the brain cells to imagine.

“Now, get moving, asshole. We haven’t got all night. Walk out nice and slow with Erin beside you.”

Nate continued, amazed that his voice was steady and didn’t betray the terror threatening to swamp him. “Erin, honey. This is for you, spitfire. I promise you, in less than two minutes, I’ll be holding on to you. And honey, I ain’t letting go for at least a couple of lifetimes.”

The next several minutes moved like hours. For months, the nightmare scene would wake Nate screaming. Jeb looked ten feet tall and beside him, Erin looked small, fragile. Jeb had his arm tight around her neck. The barrel of his gun—as promised—was buried at the base of her skull. The only sound in the forest besides the occasional squawk of a bird or chirping of the chipmunks was the low hum of the plane. Erin walked briskly beside him as if she could hasten the end of the nightmare. Even bound and gagged, she held her head high, like a royal princess.

When they got to the top of the stairs, Jeb backed into the plane, holding Erin by her hair, his gun tight against her neck. Nate didn’t hear what he said to her, but he could imagine. Easing the door closed, at the last moment, Jeb shoved her to the side and slammed the cockpit door. Somehow Erin kept from tumbling down the stairs, but Nate would have caught her if it had been a tenth of a second. That’s how fast he had her in his arms.

He ran back to the cabin carrying his precious burden. On the run, he managed to jerk out her gag and slashed at her bindings with his k-bar.

Erin looked up at him her eyes wide with wonder.

“Why Nate, you’re crying.”

Nate didn’t bother to wipe at the tears streaming down his face.

“Yeah, spitfire. I guess I am.”

Within minutes Eric and his men had cut Sam down and lowered his battered body to the ground. Annika was hovering over him, sobbing as if her heart would break. Nate wasn’t surprised. Looking at the slashes on Sam’s back, for the moment he regretted his decision not to chop Jeb to pieces. Then he allowed himself the satisfaction of imaging the scene inside the plane.

~~~

Jeb slammed the door. It took him a few seconds to realize that Nate had truly let him go. Hearing a sound in the back of the cabin, he jerked around to see the shadowy outline of three men.

“Goddamn it, Pete. I told you I could fly this thing out of here myself.”

His gut hit the ground when he heard the soft voice and felt the hard steel on his neck.

“Ah,
Senor
Jones—you really think I would let you leave without saying good-bye? What kind of a ‘colleague’ do you think that I am?”

At Jeb’s frozen silence, the smiling man added, “Given what you’ve been through and where we are going to take you, it seemed best that my personal pilot fly the plane.”

The stocky man took the pilot seat while the man who’d grabbed him shoved Jeb face down on the floor. Strong arms jerked his hands behind his back and in seconds the brutal man hogtied his feet to his bound hands and dragged Jeb to the back of the plane. Jeb looked up in horror to see a small dapper mustachioed man smoking a cigar.

El jeffe
kicked him onto his back and bent over to whisper in his ear.

“We are tying you like a pig going to slaughter. Which is precisely,
mi amigo
, where you are going.”

~~~

On the ground, Nate nodded to Eric and Mark and the band of men crowding around Sam.

“Bring Hollywood outside, men. You come too, Annika.”

Nate glanced up, watching the plane clear the trees and head out over the middle of the lake. Hanging on tight to Erin he walked over and put his free arm around Sam, carefully avoiding the open wounds on his friend’s back.

He whispered to Sam and handed him a remote.

“I know how much you like the way we Northwood boys blow shit up. How about this time you do the honors?”

Sam looked puzzled for a moment then took the remote, a soft smile creeping across his battered face.

He winked at Nate.

“My pleasure, Detective.”

The explosion was deafening lasting a full three minutes before all remnants of the shattered craft and its contents had hit the water and sunk below.

Sam turned to Nate who was holding him steady.

“How about it? Do I get to be an honorary Northwood asshole?”

Nate nodded.

“That you do. You earned it, Sam. And in our part of the world that title means you can blow shit up with the best of us. Trust me that reputation puts to shame any old star on Hollywood and Vine.

“I’m honored, Nate.”

“No, Hollywood. The honor is mine.”

Epilogue

Erin stood at the end of the bed, her hands planted in tight fists on her hips. Nate looked up, surprised at the fierce expression on her beautiful face.

“What’s up, spitfire? You look like you’ve finished chewing bullets for breakfast and are about to spit them in my face.”

Erin glanced meaningfully at Nate’s bare torso and then focused on his lower half which was cover by a sheet.

“That’s a good question, Nate. And the answer is, ‘Nothing.”

At his frown, she said. “You asked me what’s up and clearly the answer is nothing.”

Understanding, Nate shook his head with a rueful grin. Damn, she was something else. What a woman.

Nate couldn’t pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about. It had been three days since the horrible events at the shack. He’d spent most of the time dealing with the aftermath. Erin had been wonderful. Gentle, comforting and strong. She and Annika had alternated visits with Sarah so the battered woman wouldn’t be alone in the hospital. Mama D., true to form, insisted that Sarah come to their house when she was released from the hospital at the end of the week. Francine was thrilled. Especially when Sarah told her that they were selling the big house by the lake and neither one of them would live there again.

Erin told him that a small glimmer of hope had flashed in Sarah’s eyes when Erin raised the possibility of Sarah helping her and Annika create a Women’s Shelter in Chicadia Falls. It was the first Nate had heard about the idea. A testament to his unsteady emotions, happy tears ran down his face at her announcement. It was hard to believe he could be more proud of Erin than he already was.

Sam was tough and healing well. The biggest problem was convincing him that he had to stay in bed for at least a day. Annika had literally locked the doors and threatened him with more bodily harm if he didn’t stay put. Yesterday Nate and Sam and the Chief met with Mark and Eric. Together they briefed the DEA team that had come in from D.C. The federal contingent was clearly impressed. Nate was pleased that they were smart enough not to question his ‘unorthodox’ methods. They managed to put together a credible story that would pass muster with political mucky-mucks and lower level managers who were more concerned about dotting ‘i’s and crossing ‘t’s than their superiors who took them at their word.

Nate sent a heartfelt thanks to the Snake and told him anytime he was ready to come back to life there was a place for him on the Chicadia Falls police force. Snake’s response was classic. “As long as your little town can put up with a guy who looks and acts like every bad guy they’ve ever known, I’ll consider it.” He added, “But, I’m better at undercover. No one would believe there’s a tender Mama’s boy under my ‘kill at any cost’ exterior.”

In addition to struggling with his overwhelming grief and haunting guilt over Melanie’s and Tucker’s death, Nate’s biggest problem was Erin. Gazing at her standing at the foot of their bed, a stern expression on her face, he knew she’d reached her limit. This evening after he’d insisted that they simply lie together rather than making love, she’d flounced out of bed and strode naked to the doorway. The slamming door indicated that it was unlikely she was going to get him the beer he’d requested.